The Ridgeview softball team finally ran out of comebacks.
The Panthers battled but came up short against Eustis, falling 2-0 in the Class 4A state semifinals on Thursday morning in Clermont. It was the team’s second final four appearance since 2019.
The Panthers (26-4), who had won their final two playoff games in walk-off fashion, couldn’t scratch out one more against Eustis (29-1) and pitcher Libby Levendoski.
Ridgeview left runners stranded in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, and had another reach base on a fielder’s choice in the seventh.
The loss means no area team will bring home a softball championship in 2021. Episcopal lost in its Class 3A state semifinal and University Christian fell in the Class 2A title game. Trinity Christian was the last area team to win a softball state championship, winning the 3A crown in 2019.
It was just the second game this season that the Panthers didn’t generate a run and Levendoski was a big reason why.
The Eustis pitcher kept Ridgeview handcuffed throughout the game, striking out 13 and neutralizing every opportunity that the Panthers had.
They put runners in scoring position in three straight innings but couldn’t do anything with it. In the fourth, Ashlyn Halford led off with a single and Brooke Michael followed with a hit two batters later. But Levendoski followed with a strikeout and induced a groundout to end the inning.
Brittany Michael had a two-out double in the fifth, but Levendoski countered that with a whiff. Halford reached on a dropped third strike to open the sixth and moved to second on a wild pitch. Levendoski struck out two of the next three batters and got an infield pop out.
Brittany Michael was solid in the circle for Ridgeview, firing a three-hitter, striking out five and settling down after walking two in the first inning. She had two of the Panthers’ four hits.
The Panthers should be positioned to make another run in 2022. Ridgeview graduates three impact players in Brittany and Brooke Michael and Halford, but the bulk of the roster is all poised to return.